Verstappen dominates in Mexico after Bottas kills Hamilton's plan

Max Verstappen drove unchallenged to victory in Mexico a year ago. After he passed the Mercedes drivers at the first corner, the race was soon over. Read the recap of the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix here.

Bottas opens the door

Prior to the Mexican GP, Verstappen was the big favourite. The Dutchman had already won twice with Red Bull Racing at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the days when Red Bull did not have a winning car, so it had to happen in 2021. It was also necessary for the championship, because with Mercedes circuits coming up, Verstappen needed a bigger buffer against Lewis Hamilton.

In that respect, the weekend started laboriously for the Dutchman. Indeed, during qualifying, both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton were faster over a single lap. Still, this was no disaster for Verstappen, as his two previous wins did not come from pole either. However, the fact that the Mercedes drivers could make themselves very wide together was not a pretty prospect.

Making that wide was Mercedes' plan and certainly Hamilton's, but Bottas had been asleep at the briefing. At the start, the Finn was mainly concerned with slowing down his teammate on the inside, leaving the outside open for Max. The Red Bull driver took advantage of this and passed both drivers on the outside of the first corner. To make matters worse, Bottas was also lapped by Daniel Ricciardo in the first corner, which pretty much ended his race (Bottas still finished 15th).

Perez does not help Verstappen

The battle at the front was between Verstappen, Hamilton and home hero Sergio Perez. There was no real battle, however, as the Dutchman disappeared on the horizon. Hamilton and also Perez simply did not have the Limburger's pace. Perez was still able to make a good case for Verstappen by outsmarting Hamilton, but despite a fresh set of tyres, Perez was unable to do so. Still, a podium at home was celebrated as a championship.

So Verstappen did not build a huge margin over Hamilton, but it would eventually prove enough for the world title. With his third win in Mexico, Verstappen also became the record holder. Jim Clark is the only driver to also win three times, but the Briton did so once in a Grand Prix that did not count for the championship. Hamilton is the only other active driver to ever win in Mexico City. The Briton did so in 2016 and 2019.